Reception Venue Continued

[SarahLovesJS]

I''ve posted before about my reception woes. Maybe they can''t be called woes yet since I have such a long time to decide, but anyway. I met with the wedding coordinator and it looks like my dream venue isn''t out of my budget range according to her. So I made another appointment (I canceled the first one when I got scared that I couldn''t afford it) and I won''t know more until a week or two from now. According to the wedding coordinator all of the sites I am interested in are about the same price-range, and the more expensive ones are not that expensive. Still, the less expensive ones are more expensive than I thought. At this point I feel kind of overwhelmed. So, how did you decide which venue to use?

 

[Gypsy]

Did a total cost breakdown of what the venue was going to cost me. Including things like: how much decoration it was going to need (if it was minimal that brought my flower costs down, if it was a lot my flower costs went up), what was included in teh venue services (cake, nice chairs, right linens), how much food I was getting at that venue, and what the food quality was. Ease of parking and parking costs. Ease of getting to the location (I was NOT going to pay for shuttle service). And so forth. You really have to consider everything, and in my opinion do a total estimate of what the venue will cost you in terms of your WHOLE budget, then go from there.

For example a less expensive venue that doesn''t have a lot of menu options, books more than one wedding a day, and needs a lot of decorating may not be as good a value as...

A more expensive one with a lot of menu options you can play with, booking one wedding a day so you can choose your timing, and needs minimal decorating.

Also for me it was important that the place have great customer service and make me feel like my business and my happiness was valuable for them. That''s an intangible. But for me time is money. If I have to spend time fighting with a vendor, stressing about the vendor, etc... it''s a bad value.

So I guess, it was about VALUE, not just about price.

 

[lucy.lucy.80]

go with your gut. If everything is all the same price range...
which decor do you like better?
how do their menus compare?
room capacity?
if you can insist on trying their food...which has better food?
if you are doing open bar...is it top shelf? are guests limited to number of drinks?
are the wedding coordinators friendly and willing to work with you?

***when comparing prices, definetly make sure price includes tax/tip/gratuity becasue that will tack on to the menu and some places have different tip/gratuity percentage.

 

[gtn]

I decided on the church first and then looked for a venue that could accommodate our large families within a 15 minute drive of the church. There were a few places that were available and we picked the one that we liked best.

 

[mjso]

I knew I wanted to get married on the beach, but didn''t want the hassel of getting a permit and setting everything up myself. So the place we chose does ceremonies on their own private beach and then you go inside for the reception. There were huge windows all around for awesome views of the beach. Plus the package was reasonable and included pretty much everything. Also, everyone I''ve talked to about the place gives it awesome reviews.

The last one is what was most important to me. Word of mouth advertising is the best in my opinion. I wanted to know that things actually turn out nicely there. I didn''t want to end up booking the place with the best price and then find out that it is so cheap because the event is subpar...

 

[zoebartlett]

It''s funny, we never really considered venues around the immediate area where we live and where I''m from. We thought that since most of my family and some of our family friends were going to be traveling to come to our wedding, why not give them a great place to go? Not that my hometown isn''t great -- I love it, personally. It''s just that we wanted to give people more of a destination such as the mountains or the ocean. So that''s where we focused our search. We came really close to booking a place in the mountains but we decided against it because it would have meant a long drive from the airports in the area up north to the mountains. We ended up deciding on the ocean and more specifically, the town where we got engaged. Our wedding won''t be a beach wedding but it''s close by. We love the area, and actually, it''s an area that means a lot because we used to live in that region. This feels right, and I''m not second guessing our decision, like I most likely would have if we had chosen the mountains.

Actually, one big reason we chose the venue we did was because it''s a restaurant, so there was no need to coordinate different vendors for our menu, dessert, bar, etc. At the location in the mountains, we would have had to coordinate everything from several vendors, and in an area we were less familiar with, we weren''t sure if we were up for that.

So the shorter answer would be that we really put a lot of thought into what we thought our guests and ourselves would want in terms of ease, convenience, etc.

I know it''s overwhelming at first, but once you choose the location, it does come together.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Thanks for the advice everyone! Looks like I am ending up mostly in the same price range. I think a lot will become clear after I go and see the places in person and do the consultations.